Killington Resort is the state's first to open

Vermont's Killington Resort boasted it was the first mountain in the state and region to welcome skiers and riders this season. Snowmaking technology combined with cold temperatures allowed the destination to open to the general public Saturday. It held an “appreciation day” for season pass holders Friday for its most loyal customers.

Vermont's Killington Resort boasted it was the first mountain in the state and region to welcome skiers and riders this season. Snowmaking technology combined with cold temperatures allowed the destination to open to the general public Saturday. It held an “appreciation day” for season pass holders Friday for its most loyal customers.

Skier Roger Boutard, known as "Birdman" and toting birds embedded in his fur outfit, told New England Cable News he'd never fly south for the winter and miss out on skiing. "Oh no, I stick around for the winter," he beamed. "Look at this-- it's great!"

Boutard said he was impressed at Killington’s surprisingly deep snow cover for October on a small handful of trails. There is not enough snow yet, however, for top-to-bottom skiing and riding. Also, guests must walk a short distance on a constructed trail from the gondola to the area open for skiing and snowboarding.

With this glimpse at the upcoming season, NECN wondered what happened to enjoying fall to its fullest? To waiting for winter? To patience? "We don't have those here," chuckled skier Chris Kirbach. "We want to move onto the next season!"

Killington president Mike Solimano told NECN the resort is now open for the season, and hopes to stay open until late May or early June. Most other resorts in the region are eying mid-November openings. Sunday River in Maine is aiming to open Saturday for at least this weekend, but a warm-up Friday had the resort telling die-hards via an email that there's a chance that won't happen. The email urged guests to check the Sunday River website Saturday morning to see if snowmaking Friday night was successful enough to enable weekend skiing and riding.

That uncertainty illustrates, perhaps, how challenging and delicate of a dance it is to pull off such an early start. Even Killington acknowledged this October launch is no windfall, but rather, an investment in the rest of the season.

"Early season [and] late season-- it's pretty tough to make a lot of money," Solimano said. "We're doing it to get the momentum in the market. To get people thinking about skiing, get our pass holders out on snow, start talking about it, get everyone jazzed. But you know, in another week or two, we start really expanding and the amounts of visitors start rolling substantially and it starts to be a moneymaking proposition."

Vermont hopes this winter to improve on a near-record 2012-2013 ski season. The trade association Ski Vermont said in June that skiers and boarders made more than 4.51 million visits to Vermont resorts last season. That represented a 16 percent increase over the 2011-2012 season, and was the most passes sold in over a decade. The total narrowly missed the best season on record since the Vermont Ski Areas Association started collecting data in 1992.

PHOTOS: Snow covers Killington

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NECN/Jack Thurston

Vermont's Killington Resort boasted it was the first mountain in the state and region to welcome skiers and riders this season. Snowmaking technology combined with cold temperatures allowed the destination to open to the general public Saturday. It held an “appreciation day” for season pass holders Friday for its most loyal customers.